by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2014
Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein; Credit – Daniel Ospelt/Vaterlandmagazin
His Serene Highness Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein was born on May 24, 1995, at Portland Hospital in London, England. Known as Prince Wenzel, he is the eldest of the four children of Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein and his wife, born Princess Sophie of Bavaria. Prince Wenzel is the grandson of the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II and is second in the line of succession to the throne of Liechtenstein after his father.
Wenzel has three siblings:
- Princess Marie-Caroline (born 1996)
- Prince Georg (born 1999)
- Prince Nikolaus (born 2000)
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Joseph Wenzel with his parents and younger sister Marie-Caroline
Prince Wenzel’s full name is:
- Joseph Wenzel (after Joseph Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein)
- Maximilian (after his maternal grandfather Prince Max of Bavaria, Duke in Bavaria and his paternal uncle and godfather, Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein)
- Maria (in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary as is the tradition of some Roman Catholic royal families)
Prince Wenzel attended secondary school at Malvern College in Malvern, Worcestershire, England where he was known as Wenzel Liechtenstein. After graduating from Malvern in May 2014, Wenzel took a gap year, during which he gained work experience in the United States and South America. Following in his father’s footsteps, Prince Wenzel attended the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in the United Kingdom, graduating in August 2017.
Through his mother Sophie, born a Princess of Bavaria and thus a member of the House of Wittelsbach, Prince Wenzel is third in line and the heir of his mother to the Jacobite succession to the British throne. The Jacobites sought to restore the British crown to King James II of England following his deposition in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and subsequently, to his heirs. The current Jacobite heir is Sophie’s childless uncle Franz, Duke of Bavaria, who has never pursued the claim. Franz’s heir is Sophie’s father, Maximilian, Duke in Bavaria who only has five daughters. As the eldest of her father’s daughters, Sophie will be his heir to the Jacobite claim and therefore her eldest son is her heir.
After the line of King James II died out, the Jacobite line then went to the line of the youngest daughter of King Charles I of England, which was denied succession rights due to its Roman Catholicism.
Prince Joseph Wenzel’s link to the House of Stuart is through this line:
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- Princess Henrietta of England (1644–1670), youngest daughter of King Charles I of England; then her daughter
- Anne Marie d’Orléans (1669–1728), Queen Consort of Sardinia; then her son
- Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia (1701–1773), Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia; then his son
- Victor Amadeus III (1726–1796), King of Sardinia; then his son
- Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia (1759–1824); then his daughter
- Maria Beatrice, Princess of Sardinia and later by marriage Duchess of Modena (1792–1840); then her son
- Archduke Ferdinand Karl Viktor of Austria-Este (1821–1849), Archduke of Austria-Este and Prince of Modena; then her daughter
- Maria Theresia, Princess of Modena and later Queen Consort of Bavaria (1849–1919); then her son
- Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria (1869–1955); then his son
- Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria (1905–1996); then his son
- Franz, Duke of Bavaria; then his brother
- Maximilian, Duke in Bavaria; then his daughter
- Sophie, Princess of Bavaria and later Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein; then her son
- Joseph Wenzel, Prince of Liechtenstein
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